index_0700


	==Muhammad bin Qasim in Sind (711-14): From the time of Muhammad bin Qasim's conquest of Sind (with local collaboration) on behalf of the Caliphate in 711, Muslim rulers become part of the the Indian political scene. Muhammad bin Qasim negotiates the "Brahmanabad Settlement" (712), which grants religious freedom to non-Muslims. Sind becomes part of the administrative province of As-Sindh in the Umayyad and 'Abbasid empires from 712 to about 875. With the eventual weakening of central authority in the Caliphate, the Arab governors of Sind and Multan settle down and establish their own dynastic rule, and become part of the usual local political conflicts and alliances. Discussion: Ikram Ch. 1. [Routes]
	=="Arabic" numerals--and much more: The Sind connection facilitates cultural exchange between India and the Muslim world. An Indian scholar brings with him to the cosmopolitan city of Baghdad a treatise on astronomy-- and the Indian numerical system, a great improvement on earlier Egyptian, Greek, and Roman systems, which is enthusiastically adopted. (What we call "Arabic numerals" are called "Indian numerals" in Arabic.) There are exchanges of medical and musical and other kinds of knowledge; it's been argued that Vedanta, mediated through Sind, is an influence on the development of Sufism. Discussion: Ikram Ch. 1. More detail: "The Hindu-Arabic Numerals".
	==The Salt Range temples (c.700's-900's): During this period the Turko-Hephthalite "Hindu Shahi" kings rule in Kabul and Ghaznah (northern Afghanistan) and northern Pakistan. They build a number of Hindu temples, which join the many earlier Buddhist stupas in the region. A distinctive local "Gandharan" architectural style develops. Some of the temples from this period in the Salt Range mountains are of great beauty and interest: Michael Meister. During this period the Brahmi-based Sharda script (koausa) also develops in the region.
	==Kashmir under Lalitaditya (c.730-50): "Under King Lalitaditya, Kashmir, the leading power in the Punjab, serves as a major artistic and cultural center in North India. Monumental structures are built. Western Asian and Hellenistic influences are prominent, and both Hindu and Buddhist religious sites are patronized. Kashmir is a major center of Buddhism until the late eighth and ninth century, when Shaivism also becomes popular. It is also an important center of Sanskrit learning up to the twelfth century" (--Met)
	==Osian, near Jodhpur in the Thar Desert, becomes a major stop on the caravan trade routes, and flourishes for the next four centuries or so; today sixteen Hindu and Jain temples (700's-1000's) survive to recall its glory days. Images: art and archaeology; Berger; sachmet. [Routes]
	==The Kailashnath Temple at Ellora (c.757-83): Sponsored by Krishna I of the Rashtrakuta dynasty, the Kailashnath Temple is India's largest rock-cut temple--and a magnificent, astonishing achievement both technically and artistically. Images of Ellora: DSAL; Berger; for Kailashnath: art and archaeology. [Routes]
	==Bhubaneshwar and Puri and other large temples (c.750): The Kailashnath temple at Ellora marks the end of the era of rock-cut temples. Now new large temple complexes begin to be built that are "constructed" rather than carved out. Among the earliest are those in Bhubaneshwar and Puri, in Orissa. Image sets: DSAL; and Berger on Puri and Bhubaneshwar. Later on (c.1000), the superb Lingaraja and Rajarani temples are built at Bhubaneshwar. Discussion: India Nest. Meanwhile, in Java, the great Buddhist complex of Borobudur takes shape. [Routes]
	==Dynasties constantly rising and falling: "The Rashtrakutas, a Chalukya feudatory dynasty, overthrow their rulers and attain imperial status, absorbing smaller principalities such as the Kalachuris. The Rashtrakutas expand from the Deccan into South and Central India, and share control of the subcontinent with the other major powers of the period: the Gurjara-Pratiharas in the north, the Palas in the east, and the Pallavas in the far south. The Later Chalukyas, ruling from their capital at Kalyani (in present-day Mysore), displace the Rashtrakutas in the eighth century" (--Met). In short, business as usual in South Asia.
	==Shankaracharya (c.700-800): "The philosopher Shankaracharya articulates and propounds the Advaita (nondualistic) school of monotheism, one of the six traditional orthodox schools, or darsana, of classical Indian philosophy that developed from the sixth to the third centuries B.C." (--Met). His works include The Crest-jewel of Wisdom. Discussion: Hinduism Today. [Routes]


	==Muhammad bin Qasim in Sind (711-14): From the time of Muhammad bin Qasim's conquest of Sind (with local collaboration) on behalf of the Caliphate in 711, Muslim rulers become part of the the Indian political scene. Muhammad bin Qasim negotiates the "Brahmanabad Settlement" (712), which grants religious freedom to non-Muslims. Sind becomes part of the administrative province of As-Sindh in the Umayyad and 'Abbasid empires from 712 to about 875. With the eventual weakening of central authority in the Caliphate, the Arab governors of Sind and Multan settle down and establish their own dynastic rule, and become part of the usual local political conflicts and alliances. Discussion: Ikram Ch. 1. [Routes]
	=="Arabic" numerals--and much more: The Sind connection facilitates cultural exchange between India and the Muslim world. An Indian scholar brings with him to the cosmopolitan city of Baghdad a treatise on astronomy-- and the Indian numerical system, a great improvement on earlier Egyptian, Greek, and Roman systems, which is enthusiastically adopted. (What we call "Arabic numerals" are called "Indian numerals" in Arabic.) There are exchanges of medical and musical and other kinds of knowledge; it's been argued that Vedanta, mediated through Sind, is an influence on the development of Sufism. Discussion: Ikram Ch. 1. More detail: "The Hindu-Arabic Numerals".
	==The Salt Range temples (c.700's-900's): During this period the Turko-Hephthalite "Hindu Shahi" kings rule in Kabul and Ghaznah (northern Afghanistan) and northern Pakistan. They build a number of Hindu temples, which join the many earlier Buddhist stupas in the region. A distinctive local "Gandharan" architectural style develops. Some of the temples from this period in the Salt Range mountains are of great beauty and interest: Michael Meister. During this period the Brahmi-based Sharda script (koausa) also develops in the region.
	==Kashmir under Lalitaditya (c.730-50): "Under King Lalitaditya, Kashmir, the leading power in the Punjab, serves as a major artistic and cultural center in North India. Monumental structures are built. Western Asian and Hellenistic influences are prominent, and both Hindu and Buddhist religious sites are patronized. Kashmir is a major center of Buddhism until the late eighth and ninth century, when Shaivism also becomes popular. It is also an important center of Sanskrit learning up to the twelfth century" (--Met)
	==Osian, near Jodhpur in the Thar Desert, becomes a major stop on the caravan trade routes, and flourishes for the next four centuries or so; today sixteen Hindu and Jain temples (700's-1000's) survive to recall its glory days. Images: art and archaeology; Berger; sachmet. [Routes]
	==The Kailashnath Temple at Ellora (c.757-83): Sponsored by Krishna I of the Rashtrakuta dynasty, the Kailashnath Temple is India's largest rock-cut temple--and a magnificent, astonishing achievement both technically and artistically. Images of Ellora: DSAL; Berger; for Kailashnath: art and archaeology. [Routes]
	==Bhubaneshwar and Puri and other large temples (c.750): The Kailashnath temple at Ellora marks the end of the era of rock-cut temples. Now new large temple complexes begin to be built that are "constructed" rather than carved out. Among the earliest are those in Bhubaneshwar and Puri, in Orissa. Image sets: DSAL; and Berger on Puri and Bhubaneshwar. Later on (c.1000), the superb Lingaraja and Rajarani temples are built at Bhubaneshwar. Discussion: India Nest. Meanwhile, in Java, the great Buddhist complex of Borobudur takes shape. [Routes]
	==Dynasties constantly rising and falling: "The Rashtrakutas, a Chalukya feudatory dynasty, overthrow their rulers and attain imperial status, absorbing smaller principalities such as the Kalachuris. The Rashtrakutas expand from the Deccan into South and Central India, and share control of the subcontinent with the other major powers of the period: the Gurjara-Pratiharas in the north, the Palas in the east, and the Pallavas in the far south. The Later Chalukyas, ruling from their capital at Kalyani (in present-day Mysore), displace the Rashtrakutas in the eighth century" (--Met). In short, business as usual in South Asia.
	==Shankaracharya (c.700-800): "The philosopher Shankaracharya articulates and propounds the Advaita (nondualistic) school of monotheism, one of the six traditional orthodox schools, or darsana, of classical Indian philosophy that developed from the sixth to the third centuries B.C." (--Met). His works include The Crest-jewel of Wisdom. Discussion: Hinduism Today. [Routes]